The Vanguard

A post-catastrophe mystery thriller, The Vanguard is the first part of a trilogy following the adventures of Sorcha Blades - courier, hacker and reluctant superhero. Sorcha and her friends are accustomed to doing whatever they have to do to survive, but making sure everyone else survives? That’s not really in their repertoire. More

“...a genuinely original and genre-busting novel combining speculative, fantasy and science fiction writing to great effect” The Bookbag

‘And so a time will come to pass when the vanguard will emerge from the underground to battle the forces of darkness for the first of the final times. There will be five to face these foes. One to speak in tongues, one to cleanse in flame, one to stand beyond sight, one to read beyond the veil and one to move the earth.’

In the city that will not drown but cannot swim, Sorcha Blades keeps her head above water by wheeling, dealing and stealing. But when an accident gifts her and four friends with talents their world has never seen, they must take a stand against the angels and their acolytes before everything they never knew they cared about is swept away.

SJ Griffin became a woman after successfully completing many years as a girl. She used to live in the countryside but escaped to London.

After stints as an actor, a petrol station attendant, a copywriter, an editor, an amateur bike mechanic, a burger flipper, a playwright and riding an old fashioned bicycle in order to sell melting ice creams it became abundantly clear that the only thing she really wanted to do was write novels. So that's what she does. As a result she is far more pleasant to be around.

The Vanguard trilogy is the first stage of a long term strategy to remain pleasant to be around, for the general good of humanity. The final part of the trilogy, The Perfectionist, was published in April 2014.